Social Life
The Social Power of Live Events
How live events shape our sense of connection and belonging.
Posted September 28, 2025 Reviewed by Devon Frye
A large body of research has shown that social connection is vital for our physical and mental health. Much of this research has focused on the important role of close relationships, such as romantic partnerships, friendships, and family relationships. However, some research suggests that weak ties—more fleeting and casual connections—can also be beneficial.
So how can people increase their connection to other people, via both strong and weak ties? One possibility, explored in new research by Daisi Brand and colleagues just published in Social Psychological and Personality Science, is that attending certain live events could contribute to feeling more socially connected.
Brand and colleagues highlight the important role that attending different kinds of live events could play in creating feelings of belonging and connection. It has been well-documented that loneliness increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, when businesses were shuttered, social distancing rules were in place, and many people avoided their normal social interactions. But less-discussed was that people were also unable to take part in live events, such as concerts, fitness classes, game nights, and sporting events.
These kinds of events allow us to connect with close others who accompany us to the events, and with strangers we meet when we're there. This could make attending live events an especially rich opportunity for social connection.
The Study: Live Events and Loneliness
Brand and colleagues surveyed 1,551 users of a popular event management and ticketing website. Users were surveyed both before and after attending events. The researchers classified the events on six dimensions:
- Active vs. passive: Passive events involve being in an audience, such as a concert or movie, whereas active events involve direct participation, such as a fitness class or hobby-based activity.
- With others vs. alone with others: Events were classified as with others if participants reported that they attended the event with friends, family members, or romantic partners, and were classified as alone if they attended the event on their own.
- Indoors vs. outdoors
- Recurring vs. one-time
- Paid vs. free
- In-person vs. virtual
To determine how connected these events made people feel, the researchers asked participants to rate their sense of enjoyment and social connection immediately following the event. Researchers also tracked participants' level of loneliness and positive mood in the days following attendance at the event.
The Results: The Power of In-Person, Active Events
People felt more socially connected when they attended in-person (rather than virtual) events, when they actively participated in the event, when they attended with other people, and when the events were recurring rather than one-time. Active participation, in particular, had the strongest effects.
However, when the researchers looked at the effects of event attendance on daily mood, the picture wasn't entirely positive. Both virtual events and outdoor events increased feelings of connection, but they also increased daily feelings of depression, loneliness, anxiety, and social anxiety the next day.
The authors speculated that these events might spark a temporary feeling of connection, only for people to return to their daily lives the next day and realize those social needs aren't being met. It is also possible that people who are anxiety-prone might reflect on the experience and worry about how they were perceived by others, creating those anxious feelings.
What Does This Tell Us About Our Social Lives?
One major limitation of the findings was that the researchers only examined the effects of different kinds of event attendance. Therefore, it isn't clear how attending events compares to various ways to not attend events, such as spending time alone or spending time with others without attending an event.
Nonetheless, this research suggests that one way to feel connected is to attend events, especially ones that get you actively participating, such as cooking, fitness or art classes, hobby-oriented clubs, or game nights. This is especially important for people who may not have as many social connections in their lives, such as those who've recently moved to a new place.
Other research has shown that people are happier when they incorporate variety into their lives, so mixing up your routine by attending live events could be a great way to do that while increasing social connection.
Facebook/LinkedIn image: Olena Yakobchuk/Shutterstock
